What a week! Not only did Mother Nature tease us with a 60 degree day in January, T**** decries protection of immigrants from"shithole countries." Which one is more surprising? I'll let you decide.

But now that the temps have plummeted back down to a balmy 16 degrees, it's time to reflect on a couple FAB places in Chicago we visited this week that will warm your belly + soul right up.

For some background, while I was brainstorming Christmas gifts for Dan, I thought this year, instead of yet another kitchen gadget or festive socks (yes, it's my go-to gift for him), I would give the gift of pure relaxation. Because let's be honest, living with me can be a little stressful.

I also selfishly knew I would be extremely sore from my Vermont snowboarding trip, so really the gift was for me too.

Pictures of a new ancient bath house in Chicago called AIRE started popping up on my Instagram feed, so I booked us a spa night.

AIRE is located in a 20,000 square-foot facility that used to house the DeVoe & Raynolds paint factory. To begin the AIRE experience, everyone is required to wear little black footies and a robe. Once I met Dan downstairs, we started exploring the different baths. We started with the Palestra pool, which was a warm pool that had access to an outside waterfall. You literally swim under a glass barrier to an outside oasis.

This ended up being our favorite pool of the entire visit. Being outside in a warm pool in January just does something to your mind and confirms that indeed, one can enjoy the Chicago outdoors mid-winter. The waterfall drowns out any city noise you might expect with its location near busy Halsted Street. All you can hear is the waterfall ‑ no traffic, no sirens, no hint of the city you're actually sitting in.

We moved on to the salt-water float pool. Even while you're submerged you can hear the calming music being played through the speakers. Next, we bounced from the tepidarium, frigidarium (cold), and the calendarium (hot) baths. As we were starting to prune up a bit, we lied on the hot stone basins near the large tepidarium pool. I found myself going back to the sea salt scrub showers quite a lot to adjust my body temperature.

About an hour in, we were curious of a tank we saw in the glass-enclosed, SUPER hot sauna. Earlier in the night, we both couldn't handle this particular sauna for more than 30 seconds. We decided, since our massage appointment would start soon, we should just go in to see what the tank was.

Upon walking in, you're immediately hit with almost unbearable heat. The wet kind of heat that makes your lungs reject the air. I could barley breath, but curiosity took over, and I sat in the sauna waiting for Dan to submerge himself in the mysterious tank.

It turns out, the tank was another cold bath, which actually made the extremely steamy sauna comfortable. We laughed, since we were about to write-off the hot sauna, but the two of us spent a few minutes in there dunking and sitting.

To end our time at AIRE, we received a 30-minute relaxation massage. Overall, the place is incredible and the staff was fantastic. Everything was highly organized. We noticed that there were no more than 15 people in entire pool area at a time, as we rarely shared a bath or sauna with other patrons.

To stay hydrated after our time at AIRE, I turned to my new favorite beverage, a Sparkling POM. I've been completely obsessed with this refreshing drink ever since Dan's aunt Elaine served it while we were visiting Sonoma, CA in November. I may have altered the proportions, but below is how I make it at home:

Sparkling POM

- Perrier Sparkling Water (use full 250 ml can)

- 2 Tbsp pomegranate juice

- 1 Tbsp lemon juice

- Lemon wedge for funsies

* Stir and serve over ice*

We wrapped up the week with a date night at The Izakaya at Momotoro. This casual, yet intimate Japanese bar located in the basement of Momotoro, is adorned with vintage Tokyo street signs (I even spotted some old Japanese Star Wars garb), fantastic cocktails, and a KILLER playlist.

What's more killer than the playlist? The momomaki sushi roll — you cannot go wrong with spicy tako and big eye tuna loin. Other favorites include the wagyu beef, ebi no tempura angel prawns, the ginger chicken, and the uni shooter.

What I drank:

Konteki Pearls of Simplicity - Jumai Daiginjo Sake

Kira Kira - Fords gin, creme de mure, sparkling sake, lemon

In an attempt to mimic the warm weather we experienced on Wednesday, we followed up our Japanese dinner by roasting a pork loin all day Saturday with a little Hawaiian flavor and beach vibes.

Hawaiian Slow Cooker Pork Roast:

Sear the pork loin on a blazing-hot cast iron skillet — do not cook all the way through, just until you get a crispy skin on the outside. Place the pork loin in the slow cooker on low.

Add the following to the slow cooker:

- 2 cups orange juice

- 1/2 cup Sprite

- 2 bay leaves

- 3 sprigs of thyme

- 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard

- 2 habaneros (cut in half)

- 1 tsp red pepper flake

- 1 stem of ginger

- 5 gloves of garlic

- 1 whole quartered vidalia onion

- Pinch of Alder smoked salt (we use the Frontier brand found at Whole Foods)

And if we're talking salts, Dan's family recently brought us some smoked salt from The Salt Table in Savannah, GA — my favorite is their "Ghost Pepper Sea Salt" — sprinkled over avocado toast is wonderful.

If you can't tell by now, we like things SPICY. Use the aforementioned spices at your discretion. For a milder spice, you can always opt for jalapenos instead of the habaneros.

To make this truly Hawaiian pork, add a cup of chopped pineapple at the 6-hour mark. This way, the pineapple still holds its structure.

When the pork loin has sat in the slow cooker for about 8 hours, the meat can be used for a variety of dishes! Tacos, sandwiches, pasta, nachos...get creative!

We used the meat to make delicious shredded pork sliders. Made with King's Hawaiian sweet jalapeno rolls (yes, more spice!), topped with crunchy pickles and a homemade sesame slaw. Strain the juice from the slow cooker and reduce over high heat to make an incredible sauce!

Sesame Slaw:

- 3 carrots, peeled and grated (feed dog 2 carrot butts because carrots are strangely his favorite)

- 1 head of Napa cabbage, shredded

- 5 green onions, chopped

- 1 bundle of cilantro, chopped

* Place in strainer over a large mixing bowl and press out as much liquid as possible *

- 1 tsp toasted sesame seed

- 2.5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (you can also use rice vinegar)

- 1 tsp lime juice

- Salt and pepper to taste

Lastly, I finished my first book of 2018: All the Light We Cannot See -- I'm moving along to my book club's read for this month: "The Summer Before the War" by Helen Simonson. Our last book was "Traitor's Wife" by Allison Pataki, which has segued into binge watching Turn on Netflix.

While I love the recent historical fiction theme, ATLWCS was quite depressing. Or was it happy? Regardless, I think I need a little lift in my genre.

Anyone dare to share some uplifting reads?